A community archaeological dig has located and excavated a Northumberland cottage at the centre of a murder mystery which gripped early 19th Century society.

Joe the Quilter - elderly widower Joseph Hedley - was killed in his cottage on the outskirts of Warden, near Hexham, in January 1826.

The murder was never solved, and was widely reported at the time with plans and drawings of the cottage being published.

The documentation led archaeologists to what they believed was the site of the cottage, which had been demolished in 1872 and, with the help of local volunteers, the remains of the building have been uncovered.

The dig was led by a team from Beamish Museum in County Durham, which has an example of Joe’s quilting work.

Archaeologist John Castling at the dig site

The dig revealed what was left of the cottage’s walls, fireplace, flagstones from the floor, pottery, and a silver groat coin given as Maundy money to the poor.

Evidence suggests that Joe, who was widely known for his skill in making quilts, was on poor relief.

Now the information gathered from the dig, together with 10 tonnes of material removed from the site, will allow the re-creation of the cottage at Beamish.

The plan is to locate the cottage in the Georgian area of the Beamish landscape, as an example of a humble working man’s habitation in contrast to the existing Pockerley manor house which would have been occupied by a gentleman farmer.

The cottage will be part of the Remaking Beamish scheme, which has received initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

A decision on a bid for £10.75m for the project is expected from the HLF this summer. As well as the Georgian venture, the scheme includes creating a 1950s town at Beamish.

Chintz basket quilt, c1815, Haydon Bridge. Very likely made by Joe the Quilter of Warden

The cottage project is being led by archaeologist and Remaking Beamish project officer John Castling.

He said: “Joe was well known for his talents at making quilts, some of which went abroad but we were astounded at how he must have made them in such a small cramped place as the cottage.”

A crucial piece of evidence found in the dig was a metal plate bearing the name of “Revd R Clarke, Walwick” which was attached to a piece of leather and was probably a saddle mount belonging to the clergyman.

A historical account mentions how Joe would have been unlikely to survive a period of deep snow in 1823 had not “a Hexham clergyman, the Revd R Clarke, gone through drifts to his assistance after other efforts to reach him had failed.”

John said: “As archaeologists it’s extremely rare to be working on a site inhabited by a named individual about whom we know so much.

“It’s even more unusual that the individual isn’t a royal or a wealthy landowner. It gives us a poignant and tangible link to the day to day life of an ordinary working person in the early 19th Century.

The Maundy Money coin found in the cottage dig

Smaller finds from the dig included 18th Century hand made bricks, a brown glass bottle, a clay pipe, animal bone buttons, a horseshoe and a lead weight and bone pick, which would have been used by quilters and weavers.

John said: “I have never found anything relating so strongly to an individual. It is really rare, especially because they are not particularly famous people.

“We have numbered all the stone and bricks and will endeavour to put them back as they were in the rebuild at Beamish.

“Visitors will not only be able to stand in a replica of Joe’s cottage, but they can stand on the flagstones Joe would have stood on.”

Meanwhile, volunteers at Beamish are helping to trace the pattern of one of the last quilts made by Joe.

Around two thirds of the fragile white cotton quilt survives and the aim is to create a replica which visitors will be able to touch.

The quilt was ordered from Joe in 1820 by the family who owned nearby Humshaugh Mill and was donated to Beamish in the 1970s.

Emma Sawyer, Beamish collections team leader, said: “A white quilt would have been used only on very special occasions and were often given as wedding gifts.”